Ghost Ranch — in pictures – Whitworth and I

The landscape at Ghost Ranch is the thing (aka ‘Thing’) — a great presence on the Piedra Lumbre, in the wilds of northwest New Mexico.

The human cultural history of the area is inseparable from the place known as Ghost Ranch.

The ranch — and more recently conference center — has been a refuge for bandits (in the days of the infamous Archuleta brothers), East Coast Anglos, and scientists working in nearby Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project. It continues to inspire.

Fascinating stories abound of the people and events of Ghost Ranch — it features in the earliest days of Spanish settlement in the area when the ranch was called Rancho de los Brujos. However, Ghost Ranch is situated in an area crisscrossed and inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The history of the landscape and its plants and animals stretches into the ages before that.

Famous residents of Ghost Ranch — one of the earliest (Coelophysis) and one of the most recent (Georgia O’Keeffe) — on the same interpretive panel. (que?)

Before the great ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ (with a capital D) there was Coelophysis (SEE-low-FY-sis). Remains of the ancient creature, unearthed at Ghost Ranch, are on display at The Museum of Paleontology.

When dinosaurs roamed… Two hundred million years ago the Piedra Lumbre was a very different place.

Pots made by ancient Puebloan people are on display at the Museum of Anthropology at Ghost Ranch.

Cerro Pedernal stands sentinel over it all on the southern horizon. Go around to the backside sometime — you’ll be so surprised !